


Morning Routine

by notaquaman



Series: New Life [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: FTM John, Friendship, Gen, Multi, Mute! Dave, Other, Platonic Relationships, Trans Male Character, Trans!John Egbert, nonromantic relationships, transphobic language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-21 11:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3691464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notaquaman/pseuds/notaquaman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A day in the life of John Egbert.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning Routine

**Author's Note:**

> okay I want to warn and apologize before this whole thing starts, there are several transphobic statements made in this story and i would like to apologize for them. now if i see anyone saying that these remarks are okay i will have to block and report you because it is never okay to do that to anyone. i will also leave a rant in reply to said comment, and will get very, very angry. okay? okay.

When I woke up, the sun was shining bright. My only problem with this was that the sun was shining right in my eyes. I groaned, hand moving from its comfortable spot under the blankets in order to shield myself as I sat up and swung my legs out of the warmed sheets. Slowly, I made my way to the lit up window and yanked the curtain all the way over it.

My lips settled into a relaxed grin at the new state of darkness even as my eyes adjusted to it. I moved back into my now cooling bed, wrapping myself in the blankets. My smile widened as I allowed my eyes to slide shut again.

Unfortunately, this peace lasted all of five minutes before the door busted open with a screech that vaguely resembled my name.

“John!”

I yawned once again and pulled the blanket over my head to block out the sounds of my bouncing room mate in the doorway. I was honestly surprised that he didn’t hit the ceiling, considering the fact that he was six feet tall. A beat passed and soon I felt a large weight pressing down on my shoulders.

“Wake up, it’s seven o’clock which means you gotta go to work!” The voice grew higher in pitch as the body squirmed on top of mine.

“Shut up Jake,” I mumbled under my breath while attempting to shove him off. He only rested more heavily on my back, and I felt his arms start to worm their way underneath the blankets. This only caused me to bury myself deeper into the mattress, balling myself up. “I don’t wanna get up.”

“Too bad, I’m already here,” Jake said loudly into the space relatively close to my ear. I groaned even louder to drown out his voice.

“Fine,” I said, finally managing to push him off and send him sprawling across the bed. He pouted and rolled closer to me. “I’m going, I’m going.”

This caused him to jump off the bed, practically vibrating where he stood. I pushed at his chest in an attempt to get him out of the room, my feet digging into the rough carpeting as I did. With a burst of laughter, he finally left the room on his own accord. I closed the door once again, huffing as I did.

Sliding over to my informal dresser, I carefully began to pull one drawer out, setting it on the floor as I did. I began to sift through the piles of clothing and pulled out an assortment of t-shirts and jeans, setting them down onto the floor. I put together outfits only to take them apart again when they lost their appeal.

After a few minutes of quiet decisions, I managed to bring together an outfit. I began to peel off my nightshirt, swallowing hard as the collar caught my chin. I picked up the next shirt, tossing the previous shirt onto the ground, I felt my movements speed up a bit, desperate to cover up what was bound to be there no matter what.

I quickly slid on a binder, feeling my breath stop for a moment before my lungs got used to the confinement. This was followed by a worn grey shirt that once had words that had since faded away. I tugged on a pair of black skinny jeans.

Finally I brought myself to look in the mirror. The black strands of my hair shone in the thin rays of light, clumps sticking up at random. I patted them down, humming something nonsensically to pass the time. I pulled the door open, keeping up the soft humming even as Jake attempted to jump on my back, arms wrapped tightly around my neck.

Instead of fighting back, I slid my arms under his legs and hoisted him higher up. It was slightly awkward, as he was six inches taller than me but I felt his chest spasm with laughter where it was pressed against my spine so I didn’t try to drop him.

“Is Dave awake?” I asked, glancing over to look at Jake as he pondered the answer. 

“I thought I heard him leave earlier, but he’s pretty quiet so I dunno.” He shrugged as much as he could from his angle, continuing to hang loosely on my shoulders.

“Alright, I’m gonna go check, you okay with that?” When Jake nodded, I leaned forward and reached out to carefully knock on the partially ajar door in front of us. The sound of papers rustling was the only response.

I pushed it open, setting a single foot down onto the hardwood floor and briefly tightening my arms around Jake before letting him drop to the ground. He yelped, scrambling back up to his feet and smacking my arm. I smirked, crossing my arms and resting against Daves scratched up off-white desk, disturbing the clean row of assorted pens and pencils. Dave sighed, a sound that was just empty air, quickly moving to reorganize them before turning to glare at me.

He picked up a pen with thin tan fingers, twirling it once before setting the tip on a blank sheet of paper. Jake draped himself over his shoulder, peaking at the words as he wrote them. I smiled slightly, waiting for Dave to finish his most likely angered statement. When the paper was finally shoved in my face, I pulled back slightly and scanned over it before my smile widened.

‘How many times have I told you not to do that?’

“Probably nearing twenty by now.” I observed, tilting my head to the side. He ripped the paper from my grip, scratching words into it.

‘30!! I’ve told you not to do that 30 whole times but nooo don’t listen to me, the one who owns this desk.’

I felt a little taken aback, but couldn’t show this of course, choosing to instead chuckle a little bit. This chuckle evolved into a full on gaffaw, head thrown back. Jake looked slightly perplexed, tilting his head to the side to look at me. I grinned and poked them both on the cheeks. Jake flinched away from the touch, whereas Dave just sat still, most likely used to this kind of treatment.

I chose a clear spot and settled down on the floor, poking at the small grooves in the wood. “So,” I said, glancing up at the two of them before looking back at the patterns. “What are y’all doing today?”

“I’m gonna get Jade to give Bec back.” Jake sounded a little ticked off about the fact that she had been holding onto his German Shepherd for the past few nights, I on the other hand, was glad.

‘Gonna meet up with Karkat later.’

Nodding, I began to stand up. I moved out of the room, closing the door behind me. I walked down the hallway, moving into the open living room. Sunlight, as well as light from the remaining street lamps outside, filled the room with shadows. Grabbing a jacket from it’s place draped over a bar stool, I yanked my arms through the sleeves and slid my feet into my newest pair of yellow converse.

“I’m going to work,” I called back into the apartment, twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open.

The hallway was empty when I stepped into it, and remained empty as I walked through it, even when I stepped into the small silver elevator. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the cool faux metal, listening as soft beeps alerted me of floor changes.

Finally, I made my way into the lobby, nodding at the doorman as I moved towards the revolving doors. With a small whistle, I stepped outside into the boring seven in the morning air. Immediately my shoulders slumped, hair falling across my eyes and I allowed myself to become unapproachable.

People and cars alike weaved around and moved past me, utterly ignoring me and thus proving the effectiveness of this disguise. I finally reached the brick and glass building known as the library. I unlocked the door and smiled as the lights came back up, air conditioner automatically turning on.

As I settled myself in the chair, the faint chime of the doorbell rang. I turned to look at whoever walked in, prepared to greet the patron. Noticing who it was, however, I leaned across the desk.

“Well hello little miss Jade.” I smiled at the way her nose wrinkled up, simply resting my chin in my hand.

“Well hello there pretty boy, isn’t this a little early for you?” Her usually sweet voice was thick with sarcasm as she walked farther into the space.

“More hours, better pay,” I responded simply, watching her.

She ran manicured fingers over the lacquered surfaces of the bookcases as if this were her first time in the bookstore instead of her millionth. I watched as she disappeared into the rows of books, choosing to couch the amount of times that she would go down the same aisle.

Ten minutes and three rounds later, she emerged.

“You know,” I commented curiously. “You could have used a basket.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Jade said over an armful of books.

“Well, you can get more books.” I smiled at her across the counter, reaching for the pile.

“While that’s most likely true, I’d rather just carry them all. It’s my workout, helps keep  good upper body strength.” She set the books down, pushing them over to me.

I opened the first one and scanned the barcode before sliding it to the side. This continued for the rest of the eight book high stack.

“You’re starting to get less,” I commented after finishing, printing out the receipt and slipping it inside the first cover.  

“Maybe that’s because I’ve read almost everything you’ve got in stock.” She shrugged, triggering long braids to tumble in front of her eyes. She quickly pushed it back behind her ears.

“You haven’t gotten to the medical books yet.” I smirked at the way her smooth dark skin contorted into a frown.

“I don’t need to see that stuff,” She mumbled defensively, gathering the books in her arms and shuffling out the door.

“See you at the shop later? I asked, before I wondered if she could still hear me.

“If you’re lucky!” I heard faintly.

The following four hours passed much slower and quieter, with the exception of a few pleasantries and small talk between patrons. Long periods passed where no one would be inside and I was left alone with the single thought of ‘what would happen if I left right now?’ But then I  would be fired and wouldn’t have the rent money to pay for the apartment, so I had no choice but to stay.

 Using little to no actual words, I grabbed the books from the person and slide them under the scanner and repeat until finished. Then, I slipped in the receipt and wave them out. This continued until a small digital clock rang out in its annoying tone. I ushered out anyone visible before going back through each row of shelves and vaguely pointing at the door, mumbling an apology.  

I followed the last person out, locking the door quickly and leaving my work place behind, and walked down the street to the nearest sandwich shop that wasn’t a Subway or Quizno’s, smiling at the small chime that signaled my entrance. An aproned and messy haired boy appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the main space.

“John!” The worker exclaimed, running from the  spot to the space directly in front of me, arms wrapping tightly around my chest in a vise-like grip. My chest felt even tighter than before, and I found myself standing still for a moment as I tried to catch my breath before I returned the embrace.

“Hey Karkat,” I mumbled as I tucked my head into his neck, releasing a sigh. “How’s everything?”

“Boring, as usual. I make sandwiches and tell people that we don’t serve five dollar footlongs.” He shrugged lightly, shifting his arms as an indicator that we needed to move away from the door.

Eventually, he pulled back, smiling at me as he stepped back behind the register. I looked over the menu, even though I’d already seen it multiple times.

“I guess I’ll have the turkey sandwich,” I said as I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket.

“With a coke?” He asked with a small grin.

“What else would I want with it?” I chuckled softly, watching Karkat turn and begin to put together my order, counting out the five dollars I knew I would owe.

A minute passed and the sandwich was slid over the countertop in a clean white bag, shortly followed by a bottle of Coca-Cola. I flashed a quick grin at Karkat and blew an overzealous kiss before moving towards the door.

“I’ll see you later, okay? Oh! And remember that Dave’s going to stop by.” His face turned white as I began laughing and backing out of the doorway, walking briskly back down to the library. Tucking the bag beneath my arm, I opened up the door, sliding back into the cool air of the library.

I sat back down again, pulling out the slightly rumpled combination of bread and meat, munching on it contently. People begin to walk inside, immediately going silent the second they stepped on the carpet.

An hour had passed when a woman came running up to the counter, I had nearly fallen asleep again, but her fingers drumming rapidly on the smooth surface jerked me upright.

“Hello? There’s a weird person outside and they sort of won’t go away? Can you uh help?” Her voice was high pitched and every sentence seemed like a question. Black hair was piled into a bun on top of her head, several individual strands falling around her round face. I watched her, sighing before standing up and walking to her side of the counter.

“Would you like to show me this ‘weird person’?” I asked, waiting rather impatiently.

The woman nodded before walking back towards the entrance, pulling the door open and gesturing vaguely by jutting her head forward, causing hair to be released from the bun and spill down, falling across her shoulders. I stepped outside, immediately groaning internally at the warbled yelling coming from the right side of the building.

“Hey, hey, why don’t we all just calm down.” I put my hands out in front of me, forcing a smile. “Listen, this is uh, this is a library and we practically need silence and I cannot preserve that with all the noise you’re making out here, so could you maybe go somewhere else?”

The figure stepped forward, a hood covering their facial features. They seemed to look me over,  nodding a bit before flipping back the hood to reveal a sharp boned, wide eyed face. Dark skin seemed like it had been pulled too tightly over her bones and giving her a permanently surprised expression. Her mouth was set into a scowl as she seemed to scrutinize everything about me with dark blue eyes.

I swallowed hard, staring back at him. “Do you want something? I mean we only really have books here considering the fact that this is a library but I can run to the bank and grab some-”

“No.” She cut off my words, causing me to step back a little with the roughness of it. “I don’t want any money. I want you to listen to what I’m saying. Are you Joan Egbert?”

I sucked in a breath before shaking my head  slowly, hands trembling at my sides. “N-no. I mean, no. My name is John.”

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before her fist came smashing into my nose. I stumbled back, clutching at it and watching her through my fingers. Her mouth had contorted into a strange smile. I couldn’t tell whether she would swing again or not, I was too focused on the blood that slowly dripped from my nostrils.

“Listen,” I repeated, taking a deep breath. “I just want to know what you want.” My voice sounded muffled behind my hands, coming out like I had a cold.

“You shouldn’t work here, or anywhere.” She snapped, arms crossing over his chest.

“What...what do you mean?” I asked hesitantly, continuing to watch her movements carefully. My heart sped up in my chest.

“You heard what I said, you shouldn’t work here. Pretending you’re a man, ha! You’re just  a little girl playing dress up, aren’t you? And don’t you dare think that you can just play the ‘Oh I don’t know what you’re talking about’ card. Because I know, oh I know.” She ended the statement with a sharp burst of laughter.

“What? Who are you?” I swallowed hard, fingers twisting together, my cheeks slowly heating up with shame and anger.

“Vriska Serket. Seven years in the same school as someone named Joan Egbert. She was so kind, I wondered what happened to her. I had the biggest crush on her, it would be so nice to see her again.I come back to town  and I hear of a John Egbert, and I wonder, did she have a brother? No, I would have heard about him. So I ask around, people say that Joan now goes by John, and what more? She says she’s a boy now. How interesting is that?” He tilted his head to the side, eyes crinkled up at the corners as he smiled wickedly in my direction.

I stared at her in shock for a moment before stepping back. I turned around and took off down the street. The sun had been high in the sky, pushing its heat down onto me. I sprinted past the sandwich shop, barely casting a glance at Jade and Karkat as I did. The door opened behind me, and footsteps followed but they only compelled me to move faster.

“John?” Jade said, shortly followed by a set of hands on my shoulders and pulling me to a standstill.

“Go away,” I mumbled as she turned me to face her. Both her and  Karkat stared at me with an equal amount of concern, eyebrows raised slightly.

“That ain’t gonna happen, we aren’t leaving that easily,” Karkat snapped, tightening a fist and looking from Jade to me. “Now tell us what’s going on or I swear to God.”

Her fingers trailed down my arms to wrap around my hands and wrapping around my hands, carefully pulling me back towards the shop and inside, pushing me down into a chair. “Why don’t you go inside and let me lock up the library for you, okay?”

I nodded, watching my shoes tap rapidly on the ground. Karkat wrapped his arms around my shoulders, resting his head on it. Jade glanced at him again before walking back out the door, walking in large and quick steps. I slowly curled up on a chair, pulling Karkat closer frantically as tears pricked my eyes.

He quietly assessed the damage, eyes flickering over my still bloody nose to my tear stained shirt before simply picking me up. I wrapped my hands around his apron tightly, trying to ignore the obvious stares from people around me. I closed my eyes, listening to Karkat have a brief conversation before a door opened and closed around us.

Soon I was set back down on a small bench, eyes still squeezed shut. When I did open my eyes, a pale blue shirt sitting on the floor in front of me. I picked it up gingerly, setting it under my head and taking a deep breath. My mind trailed off into space, where I was reminded of how I would always need someone else to clean up my messes. Tears rapidly spilled down my cheeks, dropping down onto the cloth beneath my head.

I began to cry harder, curling up on the bench and turning my face into the shirt. I remained in the same position for what felt like forever until a pair of hands carefully moved me onto a denim covered lap.

“Shh,” A voice I recognized as Jakes whispered from somewhere above me. His fingers trailed up and down my spine, slipping beneath my shirt carefully. He began to unzip and slide off the binder off, smoothing out my skin with his other hand. “You’ve been wearing this too long…” He mumbled.

Another warmer hand joined Jakes on my back, one I automatically knew was Daves. His fingers pressed into the small of my back. ‘Want to go home?’ He spelled out slowly on my skin.

I nodded, reaching up to wrap my arms around Jakes neck, clinging to him as he began to stand. Daves hands stayed pressed on my skin,keeping me alerted me to his presence. I rested my head on Jake’s chest, trying to relax enough to fall asleep.

When the door opened up again, Jade leaned over to press a kiss to my cheek.

“I got rid of him for you, may or may not have tried to punch him in the face.” She smiled at me, brushing sweat darkened hair from  my forehead. Karkat waved sadly from behind the register, prompting me to wave a little in return.

Outside, Jake set me down on the ground and Dave came up beside me in case I were to fall. I smiled a little bit up at him, whispering quiet thank yous as they both helped me into the car. Dave scooted me over and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to my own chest as he did. His fingers smoothed out the sun warmed fabric and pressing it close to my stomach. I tried to close my eyes, attempting to get some sleep as I settled against his chest.

“Thank you,” I whispered again, fingers lazily wrapping around his shirt. “Thank you.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> notaquaman.tumblr.com


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